


The Words We Don't Say

by KlingonEtiquette



Category: Death Note & Related Fandoms
Genre: ALL THE FLUFF, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Family Feels, Fluff, L Mello and Near are brothers, M/M, for once it's happy, there's a lot of fluffiness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-19
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-10-31 16:56:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17853530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KlingonEtiquette/pseuds/KlingonEtiquette
Summary: Matt teaches Near how to light a menorah. Near is like one of those cats who gives the seal of approval on boyfriends, so Mello is incredibly happy to see the love of his life getting along with his annoying little brother. Everything is warm and nothing hurts for once. Enjoy that while it lasts!





	The Words We Don't Say

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to know what I listened to while writing, it was "Les mots que l'on ne dit pas," sung by Camille Lou.

Whispered laughter stopped Mello in his tracks as he wandered downstairs from a late afternoon nap, rubbing his eyes on the back of his hand. He recognized Near's laugh immediately, high and clear like a glass bell, but the other one took a moment to place as Matt's. With a twinge of guilt, Mello realized he hadn't heard Matt laugh more than a few times.  _I should do more to make him laugh_ , he thought. It was a lovely sound. And when Mello rounded the corner into the dining room, Matt was a lovely sight, leaning on the heels of his hands, sleeves pushed up over his elbows without any of the fear and self-consciousness he usually showed. 

"What do we do?" Near asked excitedly. He didn't see Mello yet; neither did Matt. "Can I have a match?"

Matt held the matchbox above Near's head as Near reached for it. "Let me think about th— _no_." 

"Why not?"

"Mels told me all about your 'adventures,' you little pyro."

Near pouted. "I'm not little. Fifteen is more than old enough to play with matches."

Mello bit back a laugh. Better to stay quiet and just enjoy the moment while it lasted. No doubt, once it passed, Near would go back to his usual surly self and Matt would go back to feeling out of place. 

"Not when you call it playing with matches. Mels told me about the kitchen."

"That wasn't my fault," Near protested. It had, in fact, been Near's fault. "How was I supposed to know that would happen?"

"You set vegetable oil on fire. What did you  _think_ was going to happen?"

Near's giggle was more than enough of an answer.  _Little devil_ , Mello thought. But that was Near, wasn't it, setting a match to the world just to see if it would really burn. His curiosity would surely be the death of them all, not that Near cared. As long as Near answered a question for himself, he was more than happy to burn the world to the ground. 

"What now?" Near asked. 

Matt reached for the menorah sitting across the table, pulling it closer. "It's sundown, isn't it?"

Near craned his neck to look out the window. "Yeah."

"Okay." Matt put a single candle in the menorah, then lit a second one. "You can do this with me, if you want."

Eagerly, Near put his hand over Matt's. Warmth melted like candle wax through Mello's chest, accompanied by a strange, painful longing. He wanted to kiss Matt right here, right now, and to Hell with the consequences. It didn't matter what anyone thought. It didn't matter whether Papa and Near approved. But as strong as this longing was, the desire to stay and watch Matt and Near from a distance was stronger. At least now he knew that Near and Matt could tolerate each other. Not that Mello was thinking of asking Matt to marry him after graduation—not like he'd been planning on doing that since high school. 

As Matt taught Near the blessing for the first night of Chanukah, Mello realized he had never heard Matt sing. He had a nice voice, soft and a bit rough. Was that from smoking? Was Mello going to Hell for liking the way Matt sounded if it was the result of Matt's worst habit? Though Mello couldn't understand the words of the blessing, he saw a tear slip down Matt's cheek, silent and almost unnoticed. This meant more to Matt than he would ever say, and now Mello knew. 

Whatever Mello's future had, he wanted to find out with Matt by his side. He wanted to spend that future with Matt, with Papa, with his brothers. With family. 

"Mello!" Near exclaimed. He let go of Matt's hand and Matt fixed the center candle so it was secure. Mello couldn't remember what that center candle was called, though he'd heard Matt say it once or twice. 

"Hey," Mello said. He cleared his throat, self-conscious and suddenly aware that his voice wavered with emotion. "What are you guys doing?"

Matt wiped the tear from his cheek. "Nothing much. Tonight's the first night of Chanukah."

"I remember." Mello crossed the room to stand next to Matt. "Letting Near have a go with matches, are we?"

"God, no!" Matt said, laughing. He was beautiful when he laughed. "Just teaching him a lesson before I give him his present."

Near cocked his head. "I get a present?"

"Yeah." Matt handed him a hastily wrapped box. Inside was a little train car, carved and painted by hand. From the anticipation on Matt's face, Mello could tell he had made it himself. "You like?"

"I love it," Near whispered. Mello didn't have to tell Matt how much it meant to hear Near say he loved something. Near never used words like 'love' casually, and sometimes he even struggled to say it to his own family. But here he was, holding his little train car in his hands, expressing love with such magnificent, careless ease. 

Grinning, Matt ruffled Near's hair. That was something Near only tolerated from three people—four now, counting Matt. "Good. It's got your name on the side there, see?"

Near squinted at the tiny letters, then nodded. "Did you do that?"

"Did the whole thing, actually," Matt confessed. He sounded a little shy. 

Carefully, Near placed the train car on the table and frowned, lost in thought. "It's beautiful." He pulled a little puppet out from under the table, handing it to Matt. "I made this. I want you to have it."

Matt took the puppet, a crude rendering of himself, and Mello saw tears in his eyes again. "Thank you."

The more Mello thought about it, the more the so-called consequences didn't seem to matter. He put his arms around Matt's neck and pulled him down for a kiss. So what if some things were better left unsaid? This wasn't one of them. This was love. This was the one person Mello wanted to spend forever with; it was about time the rest of his family knew. 

Near said, "Gross." When Mello and Matt stepped away from each other, Mello saw Near smiling. 

"Shut up," he snapped, but inside he felt a wave of relief and affection. "You're such a little monster."

"Well." Near pushed his chair back from the table and stood up, smoothing out his pajamas. "I'm going to tell Papa he lost the bet."

Once Near was gone, Mello leaned his head on Matt's shoulder, acutely aware of how hard he was shaking. Matt put his arms around Mello's shoulders, warm and reassuring. 

"Hey, you know what else you can do for Chanukah?" he asked. Mello shook his head. "Gamble."

"God, don't tell me you're as into games of chance as Near and L."

"It's not about chance," Matt continued. Mello could hear the smile in his voice. "It's about winning chocolate."

"Interesting." Mello took Matt's hand and pulled him up the stairs. "I'm in."

 


End file.
